Battle for Araluen
by Mikkleson Fowl's Treaty
Summary: Will has discovered a plot to over throw Aruluen. His friends have been captured. He is alone. Araluen's allies must unite under the young Ranger to rescue the country. But how will they fare against their greatest enemies?
1. Chapter 1

Battle for Araluen 10/06/2012

Will carefully aimed and fired. A black streak flew through the air and hit its target. He had hit, but he felt no pleasure. It was wrong to be happy to take life. But, a promise was a promise.

He walked over and picked up the dead carcass of the stag. He staggered slightly under the weight. He trekked through the forest, careful not to get the long antlers snagged on hanging branches.

At last, Will reached the outskirts of Hallshlom. Erik had invited the royal family, and of course Will and Halt, to Skandia for a celebration. The young Skandia crew of the _Heron_ had successfully retrieved the Andomal. Will silently wondered why they had gone through so much trouble for a hunk of amber someone had fished out of the sea. Halt had agreed with him in that matter. But, if it meant something to the Skandians, who was he to correct them?

Lost in his thoughts, he almost walked into the door of Katrina's restaurant. He quickly walked around back. When he got there, he found Jenny and Katrina competing to see who could cook the most delicious foods the quickest. He sighed and shook his head. Jenny could get so competitive sometimes. He knocked quietly on the doorframe. Both of them looked up. "Oh Will, you got a deer!" exclaimed Jenny.

Both of them hurried over and started working on the deer. Will was worried that if he didn't get out of the way fast enough, they would also cook him. He decided to get out of there before the thought crosses their mind.

He hurried up the hill into the Great Hall. Erik, Horace, Halt, and Hal were discussing something. He quietly slipped up behind them. They were discussing the guard schedule for the Andomal. Or, more accurately, arguing. They couldn't decide how many people to put on each shift and when to change times. Erik and Hal were arguing loudly, while Halt and Horace studied the map silently. Will silently peered over Horace's shoulder.

"Why don't you mix in new brotherband graduates with the more experienced sea wolves?" Will suggested quietly. All of them jumped. "Will!" Horace yelled." You know we can't see or hear you so why don't you make some noise?!" Will grinned sheepishly," But that would go against everything Halt has taught me." "Gorlog's beard. Next time you do that I might accidentally chop off your head," exclaimed Erik. I was a possibility. Erik carried his ax with him everywhere.

"I think Will has a good idea," said Halt quietly. He seemed to be the only one undisturbed. Will felt a twinge of disappointment. It was hard to surprise Halt and even harder to get him to show it.

"What a surprise," Grumbled Horace. "Will had a good idea." Will dug his elbow into Horace's ribs. Erik nodded slowly, thinking it over. "How many people do you suggest?" Will pondered it for a moment," Maybe four brotherband graduates, and four sea wolves?" Erik gestured for Will to elaborate. "Maybe one sea wolf per cardinal direction, North, South, East, West, and one brotherband student per like northeast, Southeast, so on. Total is eight," he explained. Erik nodded understanding dawning on his face.

Erik turned to Hal, "What do you think boy? You've been awfully quiet." Hal nodded slowly, "May I be on the first watch tonight?" Erik nodded. "You, Stig, Tursgurd, and Rolland. And maybe, Ulf, Svengal, Gundar, and me. What Will?" "Perhaps we should add an archer. If the archer sees and enemy, they can shoot a warning or pick off some before the fight comes to close quarters," he said. "You seem to be full of good ideas today," Said Halt. Will noted the pride in his voice.

Suddenly Hal remembered one of the names Erik had listed. "You want me and Stig to be on the watch with Tursgurd?!" Hal exclaimed. "He'll just want to annoy us. Erik scowled. Hal was right, but he was hoping that they would become friends. Horace spoke up," You know sometimes the best of friends were once enemies. Will and I used to fight all the time. Well, I fought, Will ran and insulted." Will scowled and elbowed Horace in the ribs again. Horace winced. His side was starting to hurt.

"Erik, you can't go on shift tonight, remember?" Halt reminded him. Erik looked lost. Halt sighed, reminded of Horace when he first me him; appearing to be dull witted. But, Halt thought wryly, Horace turned out to be quite sharp. "You have dinner with the Araluen royal family."

"I'll take his place," Will spoke up. Halt nodded," You can double as 'sea wolf' and the archer." "Keep an eye on Tursgurd. He doesn't know how dangerous you are, so expect some insults," warned Hal. A wicked grin twisted Will's features, "Oh don't worry, I teach him not to mess with an Araluen." For once, Hal felt sorry for Tursgurd. Then, he remembered all the insults and jibes and the pity turned into anticipation.

After the three Araluens had left, Erik pulled Hal aside. "What do you think of them?" Hal thought for a moment. "I like them. Especially Will and The prince, Lance." Erik nodded," You know, you remind me a lot of Will. And, it is good for you to be with boys your own age, even if Lance is a prince."

Hal nodded. A thought suddenly occurred to him. "Why didn't you invite Thorn to this meeting?" Hal asked. Erik smiled" I did. He stayed at your mam's kitchen to prevent your mam and Jenny's competition to get too out of hand." Hal had to smile at that.

Hal found Stig waiting for him outside. "Its you, me, Tursgard, Rolland, Ulf, Svengal, Gundar, and the Ranger Will tonight on watch," Hal told his best friend. Stig nodded and his head shot up when what Hal had said fully sunk in. "What?!" he cried." We have to be stuck with the Mr. Bighead?!"

Stig was surprised to see a smile on Hal's face. "Will's going to teach him a lesson today," Hal explained grinning evilly. Understanding dawned of Stig's face.

Hal decided to go on a run on the _Heron _before dinner. A few hours before dinner, the entire crew gathered near the _Heron's _moorings. Everyone quickly went to their positions. Thorn had decided to help at the restaurant, but Lydia had come along. She stayed at the tiller with Hal and Stig.

They brought the _Heron_ along the coast. Hal love the feeling of the wood alive beneath his feet. He glanced at Ingvar, but he seemed to have fully healed from his injury. He sat still, ready to pull on the oars at a moments notice. They sat on the _Heron, _watching the beautiful sunset paint the sky in red, orange, and purple.

By the time they got back, it was already late. Hal, Stig, and Lydia bid the others good night and headed off to Katrina's restaurant and Hal's home.

They three of them went in. Katrina saw her son come in to the restaurant and hurried over. "Hello dears. Do you want to usual?" They all nodded. In a few minutes, Thorn came over with their food. "You'd think that if you lived here you could at least get or own food, or better yet, help," he grumbled. Hal could tell he was annoyed to be excluded from the night watch.

Thorn went away to serve someone else and the three of them dove into their dinners. Hal looked up and saw Ranger Will haggling with Miss Jenny over the price of his meal. "We should go help with the restaurant before Thorn gets angry with us again." Hal suggested. Stig and Lydia nodded.

They made their way to the arguing pair. "Is there anything we can help with?" asked Hal. "See Will? Now this is a polite young man." Said Jenny pointedly at Will. "Well, you still owe me for the deer. If I had sold it somewhere else, I would have earned a fair profit."


	2. Chapter 2

Sorry about the last chapter. The bit towards the end in the restaurant was supposed to be the second chapter.

Well here it is.

* * *

Will and Jenny completed their argument. Jenny got outmatched by Will's wit, and sighing, she let him have the meal free and gave him three silver royals.

"Should be enough," said Will carefully studying the coins. He looked up. "May I have the pelt?" he asked.

Jenny nodded. "Hal, will you please get the pelt from the back?" Hal nodded and went out back. He found the pelt by the door. The pelt was soft and silky and his mother had washed it until it shone.

Hal went back front with the deer skin and handed it to Will. Will nodded good-bye to Hal, Stig, and Jenny. "See you tonight," he said to Hal and Stig, "and be on time." Both boys nodded and watched as Will slipped silently out side.

The night was cool and crisp. When Hal and Stig got there, they found Tursguard and Rolland already there. Both brother band leaders were arguing. Tursguard's face was red, but Rolland seemed cool and collected. By the time the three Skandians arrived, Hal had managed o talk some sense into them. Svengal nodded, seeing Hal's skill in negotiation.

Gundar frowned, turning around. "Wonder where Will is. He's hardly ever been late before."

Svengal shrugged," You never know with Rangers. Even knowing Will and Halt for so long, I barely know any more than I did before." Ulf grunted in agreement.

They took their positions, waiting for Will. Soon the older Skanidans grew uneasy. The boys were still oblivious to their unease.

"It's not like Will to be so late," Said Gundar at last.

Stig shrugged. "It's normal for people to be late. Maybe he forgot or something."

Ulf shook his head." He wouldn't forget about something so important."

A thought suddenly occurred to Hal. Will wasn't late or forgetful. That hardly ever happened. "I think," He said slowly." That Will's here, but he's just hiding."

Svengal considered and nodded. "You could be right." Then louder, "Will! Get your butt out here and stop hiding!"

A shadow darted out behind Svengal and a hand clamped over his mouth.

"Shut up!" Will hissed. "There's a group of men hiding in a clearing not too far away. They are bound to hear your blundering and bellowing."

"Why didn't you say anything?!" Svengal hissed back.

"I've been trying to signal you for the past ten minutes. You were too blind to see."

"Oh yeah. I saw them." Tursguard drawled. "My father, you know, the Matking, taught me how to spot Araluen spies."

Rolland rounded on him." Why didn't you tell us?" He demanded to both Will and Tursguard.

Will looked away meekly. "I didn't think of that. I didn't want to call out, but I didn't want to leave the tree incase they heard your bellows of surprise, or they moved."

"Who's they?" Stig asked. "Bellows of surprise?" Svengal asked indignantly at the same time.

"I can't tell who they are at the moment. And yes. If I can still scare Horace out of his pants, I could do the same to you." Will answered slightly smirking.

There was a slight rustle and a few faint shouts toward the direction where Will said the invaders had set up camp. Will sprinted to the nearest tree and resumed his look out position. The other Skandians resumed their posts too and stayed there for the rest of the morning.


	3. Chapter 3

Will carefully slipped through the shadows. He could hear the heavy breathing and treading of the Skandians behind him. He sighed and slipped back to them.

"Why don't you just stay here?" Will suggested. "I can barely hear myself think over the noise you're making."

"This is no time for jokes," Gundar hissed. "We are trying to sneak up on someone."

"I wasn't joking," answered Will flatly wincing as Gundar's voice split through the air. He may have thought he was quiet, but it sounded like he was bellowing to Will.

"Stay here until I signal you," Will ordered.

"And how will we know the signal?" asked Hal.

It was a perfectly reasonable question, but Will looked at him like he was stupid. "I'll yell," Will answered as if it were obvious.

Before Hal could figure out if Will was joking, the Ranger had disappeared in the shadows.

Will quietly crept up behind the group. He was surprised to see only a few people. There were three people, their faces hidden in the shadow thrown by the flickering fire.

Will slipped out his saxe and leapt at the nearest person to him. The man cried out in surprise. The two of them wrestled for a minute until someone pulled the man off of his attacker.

"What was that for?!" The man bellowed. Will recognized that voice.

"what are you doing here camping in the woods and bellowing your heads off?!" Will retorted.

The man a.k.a. Gilan scowled at him.

"we weren't bellowing," Said another voice behind Gilan. It was George.

"We need to see Halt, or Horace, or Evelyn," said another low feminine voice next to George.

Enter Gundar. He came charging in waving his ax around. Will and Gilan grabbed his arms before he could split George from shoulder to waist.

The others followed him in all wielding weapons. "Took your time didn't you?" Will grumbled.

They looked around confused. Will gave them the quick story.

"Go back to guarding that hunk of sap," Will ordered. "I'll bring them to the great hall."

"But you also have to stay," Rolland protested. "It is the law of guard."

"Well I'm not Skandian and I'm pretty sure you uglies are enough," Will answered. He quickly ushered the three Araluens toward the direction of Hallshlom.

Grumbling, the Skandians returned to their posts. "Damn Rangers," grumbled Svengal. "I still don't understand them."

"What happened?" asked Stig eagerly when they returned. Tursgurd and Ulf both got up eager to hear. Rolland quickly told the story.

Tursguard smirked. "Well I hate to say it but I told you Rangers were weird and stupid."

"Watch what you say," Gundar growled. "Some of those 'stupid' and 'weird' Rangers are my closest friends." He move threateningly towards the arrogant boy.

Tursguard looked scared. "If you hurt me, my father, the Maktig, will hurt you," Tursgurd stammered trying for bravado.

"Yes, and the stupid weird Ranger will hurt you." Said Will seemingly appearing behind him.

"how'd you get back so quickly?" asked Stig stunned.

"Haven't you heard? Rangers are black sorceress. One of our powers includes teleportation." Will answered with a grin.

"Yes," Ulf added. "I've seen it before. They can meld into the trees and trap people in them too, so don't mess with them Tursgurd."

The color drained from Tursgurd's face. Gundar coughed, covering up his laugh. Thankfully, only Will noticed. Then again, Will noticed a lot of things.

The sky finally turned rosy as dawn came. The guard sighed in relief. "Only a few more hours." Will encouraged. "Now's the time to really remain vigilant."

"Haven't we been doing that all night?" Stig complained.

"Almost there." Will answered.

Stig scowled and returned to his position. "That Ranger is really getting on my last nerve." He muttered.

"Only just?" Will asked, startling Stig. "I've really got to try harder. I annoyed Halt by the end of my first day as an apprentice."

Svengal snorted. "That's because Halt's easy to annoy."

Both Will and Svengal chuckled at that. The rest of the others started on blankly. Finally, their relief arrived and the guards headed off to get some rest.


	4. Chapter 4

**Okay, so I realized I haven't written anything in a long time. Well, for this story… I couldn't think of anything that would fill up my friend's (and now also my) goal of 2000 words. Thank you Thanksgiving break. Anyways, back to the great saga of young Will Treaty, king Horace, Rangers Halt and Gilan and well, everyone else… **

"You called?" Will asked strolling through the oak doors of the Great Hall.

"Only I get to strut through the Hall like I own them. Unlike you, I actually do." Said Erik glaring at Will. Will grinned at him, unfazed. Erik shook his head muttering to himself. Will's grin widened.

"You are to report to Nihon' Ja next week. The emperor has requested your presence." Announced a messenger.

"I wonder why," Halt muttered under his breath.

Gilan made an odd choking noise and Will realized he was concealing a laugh. Horace also hid a grin behind a massive hand.

"Thank you Halt," Will said dryly glaring at his former mentor. Will wished Halt was more like his wife. Sure, she criticizes, but at least she actually knows what she is talking about. As if reading his thoughts, Halt glared at Will.

Evelyn (aka Cassandra) coughed politely to get everyone's attention after the messenger had left. "Are we going to continue criticizing Will, or shall we plan tonight's celebration?" she asked.

The men stared at her blankly. Evelyn sighed. "In case you have forgotten, today we celebrate the 7th year that our two countries have been in an alliance." She explained.

Erik coughed roughly. "Of course. We have already planned most of it. I never would have forgotten."

"Very well." Said Evelyn smiling slyly. "What have you planned so far?" she asked. "I would love to see it."

Erik opened his mouth, but nothing came out.

"I thought so," said Evelyn smugly. "You forgot. All of you forgot. And yet we fought together. Such an important milestone and you all forgot. Boys." She said rolling her eyes. "I guess it's up to me to plan."

And plan she did…

* * *

"Come on" said Gilan with Will in a tow. "You look fine"

Will groaned. "I can barely move. Where did Evelyn find these clothes?"

Will yelped, almost face planting on the ground, tripping in his fancy, polished shoes.

"Screw this," he growled. "I'm going back to change back into my regular clothing."

Gilan laughed. "Looks like the ever graceful Will Treaty has lost his balance."

Will eyed him balefully. "Now I see why Halt is so eager to stick a knife in you. I may decide to do it for him."

Will turned and fell yet again. Will groaned as Gilan howled with laughter. Gilan walked over and pulled Will off the ground and all but dragged Will back to their temporary living quarters.

After five minutes of yanking and swearing, Will managed to get the formal clothing off. "I wonder if she got the Skandians to wear this." Will grumbled, swinging on his cloak.

"At least clean off the dirt" said Gilan tossing him a damp towel. Will nodded his thanks and rubbed the dirt off his face and arms.

When they neared the Great Hall, they could hear the Skandians had already started. "Well you can always count on Skandians to do two things: Drink and fight." Gilan nodded in agreement. "You forgot to add sail and raid." Will grinned. "Too true."

The two rangers slipped in. Will yelped and ducked as a flagon of ale flew at him. Hitting Stig who had come in with Hal and Lydia as the door slipped close.

"Oh! Ale!" he exclaimed happily. "Thanks Will!" Hal chuckled.

Will sighed. "I will kill the next person or thing that makes me duck and or fall." Gilan laughed. "Yes, your poor face needs rest after falling twice and 'ducking' once."

Will gave Gilan his best evil eye. Gilan, knowing how fast and deadly Will was, decided to let the topic rest. But, he promised himself; he would get a good laugh out of it later.

The Skandians were already drunk. Erik bowled his way over. The other Skandians nearest to the door and next in the Obejarl's path learned from their unfortunate countrymen and parted to let Erik through. Those he left in his wake got up groaning.

The two Rangers prepared to get out of the way if Erik decided to get too drunk or too friendly and started doing what he called "hugging".

"You finally got here!" he bellowed. "The little hero was the last one to get here!" Will felt his cheeks flush. Gilan hooted with laughter and pounded him on the back. He seemed to be doing a lot of laughing tonight.

Erik dragged Will to where the others were waiting. Those Skandians who had just gotten up quickly parted, not wanting to be crushed again.

"Took you long enough," Horace said. He was wearing the suit that he had some how managed to stuff himself into. Horace looked awkward and like he was about to explode. "Doesn't Horace look handsome?" Evelyn asked sweetly.

Will chocked back his laughter and nodded. He knew if he said anything, he would burst out laughing. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Gilan hiding his mirth. It would not do to laugh at Araluen's future king.

Well it was finally time to start the celebration now that all the Araluens were here. The Skandians seemed to enjoy having drink contests. Throughout the next hour, they drank and drank, many of them passing out. Horace managed to drink two before going loopy. Erik laughed and pounded him on the back. "These will put hair on your chest if not more."

"Jesper and Stefan!" Erik bellowed. "Are you done with the saga yet?!"

The two Herons emerged with a mandola. They struck a tune and started singing/bellowing out the lyrics to a tune with absolutely not relation to the one they had just played.** I'm not going to put cuz I'm horrible at poems and rhyming. **

They described the battle with surprising accuracy and detail, but, of course exaggerated everything. In their saga, Will and Halt were ten feet tall and able to shoot a hundred arrows per second. Horace wielded ten blades and destroyed half the army with one blow. Evelyn had led the archers herself and fought off ten Tejumi. Everyone wolf whistled when they described Araluen's beautiful princess.

Erik watched with interest as Will banged his head on the table. Hal wormed his way into a seat next to the young Ranger. "Don't worry, Stefan and Jesper did the same to our story." He elaborated, seeing the blank look on Will's face. "The way they put it, our little ship fought off an entire fleet. I almost cracked my head open with all the head banging I did on the table."

When those two had finished, the place erupted in cheers. Both of the Skandian boys took a quick bow. Gilan came over and nudged Will whispering something into his ear. Will shook his head, "I don't want to spend the next month sleeping at the top of a pine tree."

"But you'll be leaving for Nihon' Ja tomorrow. He can't make you sleep in a tree if your in another country" Gilan argued. "Fine." He said, seeing the stubborn look on Will's face. "I'll do it with you. Besides, the real writer of this song needs to be recognized."

"Since you are willing to give up a month's good night sleep, let's do it." Will said grinning.

Gilan realized he hadn't thought it through. He had forgotten that only Will was going to Nihon' Ja and that he was still staying with Halt. Too late.

Erik had over heard and grabbed them both propelling them onto the table. Jesper grinned and handed Will the mandolin. "This doesn't seem that Ranger-like does it?" Stefan asked. Will shrugged. "Tonight is a time to celebrate and relax."

Will strummed the mandola and he began singing Greybeard Halt.

_Greybeard Halt is a friend of mine_

_He lives on Redmont's hill_

_Greybeard Halt never took a bath_

_And they say He never will!_

_Fare thee well, Greybeard Halt_

_Fare thee well, I say_

_Fare thee well, Greybeard Halt_

_I'll see you on your way_

_Greybeard Halt, he lost a bet_

_He lost his winter coat_

_When winter comes, Halt stays warm_

_By sleeping 'mongst the goats._

_Fare thee well, Greybeard Halt_

_Fare thee well, I say_

_Fare thee well, Greybeard Halt_

_I'll see you on your way._

_Greybeard Halt, he lives with goats_

_That's what I've heard tell_

_He hasn't changed his socks for years_

_But the goats doesn't mind the smell!_

_Fare thee well, Greybeard Halt_

_Fare thee well I say_

_Fare thee well, Greybeard Halt_

_I'll see you on your way_

_Greybeard Halt is a fighting man_

_I've heard common talk_

_That Greybeard Halt, he cuts his hair_

_With a carving knife and fork!_

_Fare thee well, Greybeard Halt_

_Fare thee well, I say_

_Fare thee well, Greybeard Halt_

_I'll see you on your way_

The Skandians laughed and bellowed along with the chorus. When the song ended the Skandians thumped their tankards, spilling the rest of their ale. Will and Gilan jumped off the table. Will looked up and saw the great oak doors of the Hall open and close. He saw the swish of a cloak before the door closed. He felt bad for humiliating Halt.

Will quickly excused himself and slipped out after Halt. He saw the hem of Halt's cloak disappear into the forest. Will raced after Halt, yelling his name. Halt ignored him.

Reaching the edge of the forest and looked around. Where could Halt be? Was he really that angry that he would ignore me? Will thought. He thought he saw a shadow move. Will sprinted after him. "Halt! Wait!" Will yelled.

A few meters from where Will stood, examining the ground for any sign of Halt, a cloaked figure raised his bow and aimed. He let the string go and the arrow shot away with a dull _Thrum. _

Will cried out as the arrow pierced his side. Halt felt his heart stop. He hadn't meant to shoot the boy. He was angry at Will, yes, but he would never willingly hurt the young boy. It was just meant to scare him, to warn him.

Halt ran to Will's side. Blood soaked the ground. Halt cradled Will in his lap. Gilan raced over. He had followed Will out and had came here as fast as he could when he heard Will cry out.

"What happened?" Gilan asked aghast. Halt numbly shook his head. Will had passed out from the pain when the arrow hit, but now he woke up. Will moaned and turned his head. He had felt the arrow pierce his side, and he saw Halt's bow lying on the ground. His brain figured out what had happened, but his mind refused to believe it.

"Halt, I'm sorry if we humiliated you. It was not our intention." Will rasped. A shudder ran though his body. His eyes fluttered close before Halt could find his voice.

Gilan turned his accusing eyes on Halt. "Why did you shoot him?" Gilan asked, refusing to believe that his mentor would shoot someone who was practically his own son. Halt shook his head, trying to find his voice. "I didn't mean to." He answered in a low voice. "I was angry and I just wanted to give him a scare. I was aiming at the tree next to him."

This was a one in a hundred shot. Halt rarely missed and now was a horrible coincidence. Gilan nodded. It made sense. And it was better than thinking that Halt had shot Will on purpose.

"We should get him to a healer." Gilan said.

Halt grabbed his hand. "Please don't tell anyone," Halt implored.

Gilan shook his head and halt felt his heart sink. "You will have to tell Will. He might do something we all might regret if you don't tell him." Gilan knew Will would be miserable if he thought Halt hated him enough to try and kill him. Halt nodded. He couldn't think straight. He hoped it was all a nightmare. He hadn't been humiliated and Will would be fine and whole.

Gilan carefully scooped Will up. Will gave a small cry of pain when he did. Gilan couldn't help but feeling that this was his fault. He had convinced Will to perform the song with him. Gilan wondered why Halt hadn't gone after him. This just didn't add up. He sighed. Like Will, he didn't like coincidences, and he knew Halt would never risk shooting even anywhere near Will. All he could hope for right now was that Will would be alright. So much for celebration, he thought.

**Yeah! I finally got 2000 words in one chapter. Ha -. You satisfied? Okay done gloating. I hope this makes up for the relatively long wait. Until the next chapter. The more reviews, the faster Will will get help and the faster Halt and Gilan will make sense of what happened. **


	5. Chapter 5

**Kay I realized I sorta left the last chapter as a cliffhanger. Oops. Thank you (insert name here) for pointing that out. Oh well. Here is the fall, or the climb back up. That doesn't make sense foes it? Oh well. Too bad. I'm random. Get used to it. **

** Oh right. Something I need to get out. **

** Thank you xDon'txBlink'-'x for summarizing the entire chapter. Before I even freaking wrote it. -.-**

Will groaned coming to his senses. Where was he? Why did his side hurt so much? Then he fell back, the memories from last night rushing back. Halt had shot him. He had seen the arrow and felt it pierce his side, sinking into his flesh. But, his mind couldn't believe it. Halt would never… Will felt his mind shutting down from the mental conflict.

Glian walked in moments after Will sank unconscious, talking with Skandia's best healer. "Will he heal?" The healer nodded. "With time, he would heal. If it were a regular wound." Gilan looked at him sharply. "This is not a regular wound?" The healer shook his head. Gilan nodded, understanding. This arrow had come from Halt's quiver and was fired from his bow. And he knew how much the knowledge would hurt Will. But this just didn't add up. He had to go investigate. Besides, that was what a Ranger did.

Gilan walked the last few feet to Will's bedside. "I'll be back," me murmured. "Stay alive," he added as an afterthought.

* * *

Gilan found Halt in the forest, where Will had been last night. His lips were moving, but no sounds came out. Halt was looking intensely back to the spot where he had been and at the spot where Will had fallen. "What is it?" Gilan asked. Halt looked up with a start, drawing his saxe, but sheathing it, seeing Gilan. He shook his head at a loss for words.

Then, something caught Gilan's eye. There was an unnatural black color sticking out of a nearby tree. In the winter, the bark would have turned white. Some trees may have slight streaks of black in the bark, but none as pronounced as this. Gilan walked over for a closer look.

**Okay, can't resist. Dun, dun, duuunnnnn.**

It was an arrow. More specifically, Halt's arrow. There was someone else in the forest with them last night. Someone who had it out for Will.

**Short chapter, I know, but I'm watching TV. Whadda u expect? Review and the next chapter will come faster. **


	6. Chapter 6

**Meh. I'm bored and the last chapter was too short. Thanks for the reviews. And I did say 3 new reviews and I would update. Oh right. No need to be bitchy when reviewing. That won't help me write faster. -.-**

Gilan and Halt raced back to the small cottage that Will and Gilan were sharing. No one was there and Will seemed calm. He wasn't thrashing around screaming in agony, so Gilan took it as a good sign. Halt went over and checked Will's temperature. Seems normal.

"Where is that healer?" Gilan muttered. "He shouldn't leave Will here alone." Halt nodded," Yes, but we aren't exactly above blame ourselves. We should also stay here with him." Gilan opened his mouth to argue, and then nodded, realizing that once again, Halt was correct. Gilan briefly wondered why he kept on trying to argue with Halt. He dismissed it as stress.

"I'll take first watch," he said. Then stopped realizing that implied keeping guard. Halt nodded stretching and yawning. They still had about six hours of night left. Then he stopped, remembering something. "Ni-Hon Ja," Halt said. Gilan frowned. "We can't. The rough seas could make the wound worse." Halt nodded. He didn't like it, but Will had to go. "It has to be very important if the Emperor requested a Ranger's presence." Gilan looked troubled. "I could be for like training or a pleasant visit," Gilan said, only half hoping it was true. Halt was already shaking his head. "We'll just have to see in the morning," he said going out. But they both knew it was false hope.

Will had a peaceful night. He didn't even give a peep. Gilan thought it was nice to see Will so calm and peaceful after the night. He wondered sadly if Halt would tell him of if he had to do it. Gilan didn't mind. It would be nice to put Will's mind at peace. But, if Halt didn't do it, it would mean he was a coward. And everyone knows that's not true.

"How is he?" asked Halt walking in. Gilan jerked awake. He realized he had dozed off. "ummmmm," he stuttered. Halt gave Gilan he evil eye. "You dozed off?" he growled. Gilan briefly wondered bluffing, but he knew he shouldn't. Besides, Will was like his little brother and he felt bad for not being responsible. Gilan hung his head. "I'm sorry," he muttered. Then he heard Halt laughing. Gilan's head jerked up. His eyes narrowed. Halt was forever pulling his leg. Gilan guessed that even in death, Halt would be there, pulling his leg. His only consolation was that he got under Halt's skin like no one else.

Halt sat down on the bed and felt Will's forehead. Will stirred. His head pounded and everything alternately sounded far away or too loud. The world swam into focus. The first thing he saw was a bushy, unkempt beard. He reached up and gave it a yank. "Ow!" Halt yelped and Gilan doubled over in laughter. "You really gotta go to a real barber," Will muttered. Gilan's hoots of laughter doubled in volume and tears of mirth streamed down his face. He was seconds away from rolling on the floor. "He… he got you good!" Gilan managed through his fits of laughter.

"Why's he laughing so much?" Will asked. Gilan finally managed to calm down. He nudged Halt. Halt cleared his throat a few times. "Getting a cold?" Will asked, finally getting payback from the wedding speech episode. **From the ****Lost Stories ****"Purple Prose". **Halt scowled at him.

"I'm sorry about last night," he began. "I would gladly put an arrow through Gilan, but you know I would never willingly hurt you. I was angry, yes, but I was aiming at the tree behind you. It was a joke. To scare you. And well, it sorta got out of hand." Gilan cut in before Halt could start rambling.

"We went into the forest last night," started Gilan. "We found this" he gestured at the black arrow shaft "in the tree. We think here might have been someone else in the forest. Someone trying to hurt you." Will nodded slowly, glad he was correct. Halt hadn't hurt him. Then he was struck with a thought. "Ni-hon Ja," he said struggling out of bed. "I'm supposed to go today." He cried out, collapsing against Halt as pain flared in his side.

Will gasped until the pain died. Then, he hurried around the cabin gathering his stuff. He went to the door and whistled. Tug trotted over. The horse knew about last night.

_See what happens when I'm not around? _The shabby beast asked. It seemed weird that his horse was so smug. It creeped him out. "Hold up!" said Halt stopping the young man. "How do you plan to get there? Ride Tug all the way across the ocean? I agree he is an amazing horse, but I'm pretty sure he can't gallop across the ocean." Will grunted in annoyance. "I'll go ask Erik if he's willing to spare any of his men," Gilan volunteered. When Will protested Gilan held up his hand. "We'll pay them."

Gilan jogged to the Great Hall. Erik was already in there, getting bored out of his mind by Borsa, his hilfman, and the huge piles of taxes. Erik brightened up when Gilan came in. Gilan crossed the great hall. "Erik! Will still needs to get to Ni-hon Ja. Do you think you can spare a ship and some men?" Erik considered and nodded. "Many would be happy to have the lad on board." Erik fingered his chin considering. Hal and Stig chose this moment to come in. "Boys," Erik yelled, summoning them. They exchanged glances and came over.

"Can you bring Will to Ni-hon Ja?" he asked them. Stig looked at Hal. Hal nodded. "It would be fun and interesting. The lads have been bored after the adventure. But, one problem. We don't have any clue how to get there." Erik nodded. "You don't, but I'm pretty sure Thorn does. Even if he isn't a competent navigator, he should remember the basics. Any besides Will has great memory. If Thorn gets lost, Will should point you on the right direction." Gilan snorted. "You seem to be over-exaggerating Will's memory." Erik shrugged and turned back to the boys. Hal was slowly nodding. "Oh right. I want you to also bring the other two brotherbands. They need some hands on experience." Both boys opened to argue then changed their minds seeing Erik's evil glare.

* * *

The three ships were soon ready. Rolland came over to Hal. "Are you sure you know how to get there?" he asked. Hal nodded. "Thorn knows." Rolland nodded. You don't simply question Thorn. He went back to his ship. Hal turned to the sound of hooves. Will dropped lightly on the ground next to Hal as Tug skidded to a stop. "Ready yet?" he asked. Hal shook his head. Amazing how one of both Araluen's and Skandia's heroes could seem so childish at heart. Will seemed to guess what he was thinking and grinned.

Soon, everyone was ready. A crowd gathered to see them off. Erik managed to get a break form all that paper work to come. Hal grinned slightly. Borsa must be fuming. Will stood next to his horse in the middle of the ship next to the water tight compartments where Tug was.

Calm seas, fair winds, this journey was off to a good start. If only Tursgurd wasn't here…

**I kept my promise. Review!**


	7. Chapter 7

**I haven't updated this in a while. (Feel free to ignore my following rant) I was trying to finish my Science and History papers. Big mistake taking honors. I hate my Science HW. Take notes makes notes. That's shit. It pretty much means you have to summarize every fucking paragraph in the lesson and answer every fucking question. Took me two freaking hours to do like 2 lessons. Rant over. Story time! Gather 'round children.**

_In the forest the night Will was shot. _

The Genovesan stayed stock still as he watched the old Ranger and the younger one race to their friend. He mentally berated himself for missing. The boy was still alive. He could still cause trouble. Fortunately, he was going away long enough for the plan to work. The Genovesan slipped silently away to report back to his employer.

* * *

Will leaned over the rail. His head ached. His side throbbed painfully and was bleeding yet again. Now he knew how miserable Halt felt on the ocean. Another wave rocked the ship and Will swallowed the bile that rose to his throat. It tasted horrible. Hal looked at him strangely. "I don't understand how you are sea-sick," he said innocently. Will wanted to strangle him. "For the last time," he said in his best patient voice, which was very strained by now, "I am not _sea _sick. I'm regular sick." Hal shrugged. Both were the same to him.

"Land ho!" Stefan bellowed. Will went over to the mast. After Stefan slid down he shimmied up. Will was surprisingly agile considering his condition. "Are we in the correct country?" Stig called up. "We're in Arridia," he called back down. Hal panicked. He grabbed the nearest map and studied it. The other ships pulled up beside them. Rolland quickly boarded. "What's wrong?" he asked. "According to Will, we're in Arridia," Jesper answered. "What?!" Rolland exclaimed. "How are we in Arradia? I thought we wer finally there." Tursgurd snorted. "Hal Who led us the wrong way." Hal opened his mouth to argue.

Everyone was surprised by Will's laughing. "Don't mess with me boys," he said. "This is the correct country, just the wrong port." Hal scowled at Will. Rolland jumped back onto his ship and they set sail again.

As they cruised along, the boys (and girl) stared at the wondrous new country before them. Thorn and Will both went about their business, having been here before. Soon they came to a narrow river, little more than a creek. "Go in there," Will directed. "It widens out a bit and it leads up to practically the Emperor's front door." Hal called over to the other ships. Rolland shouted back in acknowledgement but Tursgurd seemed to ignore him. Hal shrugged and steered into the opening of the river. The other Herons were tense, remembering their last "short-cut".

Will winced as pain shot up his side again. He collapsed on the nearest unoccupied rowing bench, holding his side. The pain had been occurring frequently throughout the trip. The first time that had happened was only a few minutes after they had left Hallshlom. The boys had panicked. Even now there were looks of alarm, but they handled it better. Edvin came over and handed Will a small box of anesthetic paste. The type he hated. Will didn't know whether to thank Edvin or punch him. Too late anyways. Edvin had gone back to his post.

Will sighed. He undid his cloak and pulled off his shirt. Edvin came back over with a first aid kit and this time stayed near-by incase Will needed help. Will carefully unwound the bandages and studied the wound. "Is it getting better?" Hal called over. Will did his best to study it from the odd angle. "Should be alright," he grunted back. He winced again as pain seared through his chest.

Will opened the box and used his fingers to scoop out the paste. He wrinkled his nose at the intoxicating smell. He decided to breathe through his mouth instead. He stiffened slightly from the pain, but soon the anesthetic took over and the pain faded. The rocking of the wolfship made it hard to rewrap the bandages, but he finally got them sloppily on.

The river wound slowly and lazily through the forest of NiHon Ja. Hal ordered the sail to be let down since there was no wind. He decided to let the crew rest. Hal gestured at Stig to take the rudder. He made his way over to where the young Ranger was yanking on his shirt. He watched in slight amusement until Will gave an irritated "Yes?" "Are you pulling our legs or are we going the correct way?" he asked. Will studied the surrounding forest. "We're almost here. Horace loved dragging me here with him every time he wanted to see Shigeru."

They sat in silence; Will waiting for the question that he knew Hal was dying to ask. "A bad question is one that isn't asked," he said quoting Halt. Hal started wondering how Will knew. He shook his head marveling at the uncanny powers of a Ranger. "What's it like here?" he finally asked. Will just gave one of his mysterious smiles. "You'll see," he answered. Hal grumbled in annoyance at the Ranger. He decided to ask Thorn instead.

Hal repeated the same question to Thorn. He considered for a moment. "What do you mean what is it like? The people the emperor, the country in general, the view?" Hal sighed in annoyance again. "Never mind," he muttered. Hal cold tell Thorn was doing his best to hide a smile.

* * *

By dark, they still hadn't reached the emperor's summerhouse yet. "Are we there yet?" he heard one of the twins complaining to Will. Hal dragged the twin away before Will could stick an arrow through him. Both twins had been asking Will the same question for the past hour and he could tell the Ranger's legendary patience was wearing thin. "Shut up or I may just let Will stick an arrow through your mouth," Hal hissed to the twin.

Will and Lydia watched as Thorn put the boys through the drills. After watching for a while, Will decided to go hunting. After the drills finished, the boys were covered with sweat and were panting hard. "Where'd Will go?" Hal panted. "Instead of training their bodies, you should train their minds," Will said appearing in front of the fire. The boys yelled in surprise and drew their weapons. Thorn laughed. Will dropped a deer carcass and a rabbit in front of the fire and Edvin moved to prepare it. Then he stopped, realizing he had no idea how to cook a deer or a rabbit.

Edvin decided to bluff it out. He set out skinning the carcass. Then stopped, then started again. "Are you going to ask for help or are you going to ruin a perfectly good doe?" Will asked. Edvin blushed and handed Will the stuff. He saw a bag lying by Will's feet. He opened it and pulled out spices and bread.

Will expertly skinned the meat and prepared it. "Give me a pot," he told Edvin. Edvin handed him a pot filled with water, guessing what was on Will's mind. Will took the pot nodding his appreciation and approval. Edvin felt a small glow of pride. Edvin watched as Will made the meal. The boys came over, drawn by the smell of burning fat, drooling. Tursgurd smirked. "Looks like you're the first female Ranger," he sneered at Will. Will shrugged. "While you're starving, I will have a nice warm meal that is cooked the way I like." That effectively shut him up. They Herons and the Wolves hid smirks. Tursgurd reached for a bowl of broth, which Will whipped away form him. "Apologize first," he said. Tursgurd scowled. "I'll fight you for it, but I won't apologize," he growled.

Will shook his head. Tursgurd was angry. Erik had made him follow Hal Who to this faraway country, Thorn had made him drill for three hours, and now the damn Ranger wasn't giving him food. With a roar, he leapt at Will. He found himself sprawled on the ground. The boys stared stunned. Will had speed that rivaled to Thorn's. He sat down, cross-legged, finishing his dinner. Tursgurd scowled at him and settled for grabbing food from one of his crew-mates. Without a word, Will handed the unfortunate boy another bowl of food. Tursgurd saw the chance and tried to steal another person's food. Will smacked his hand. "Be happy you even have food," he snarled. Tursgurd glared at Will looking him full in the eyes. His stare wavered. It was like a curtain was pulled aside, revealing the cold, merciless side of Will. To the other boys, they saw what startled them. Tursgurd was afraid and humbled. Each one of them made a mental note not to cross the young Ranger. Thorn gave a tiny nod of approval. Will would be a good person to have around.

* * *

That night, they rolled up in their coats and, in Will's case, cloak, and fell asleep on either their ships or on the ground. Lydia and Will had first watch. Will scaled a tree and settled there, motionless, after telling Lydia when to wake the others. She sat down, her back to another tree wondering if Will felt as uncomfortable as she did.

It was an uneventful night. The watches all grew bored, but no one fell asleep. Hal woke to the smell of coffee and the sound of drill swords. The coffee was brewing and thorn was teaching Will how to sword fight. Hal sipped his coffee and watched with interest as Thorn drilled Will. "This is your first time?" asked Thorn, surprised at Will's skill. Will mulled it over. "Technically" he answered slowly. Thorn raised and eyebrow, Ranger style. "Well, when I was younger, I lived in the castle ward and I used to sneak out and watch the Battleschool drills and them practice them at night," he explained. "You didn't get caught?" asked Hal surprised. Will looked offended. "I had a knack of doing things I wasn't allowed to and going places I wasn't supposed to go to," he answered. Hal grinned. Jesper would have a rival in the arts of thievery.

Thorn gestured at Hal to come over. "Fight," he ordered. Will opened his mouth to protest, then closed it, steeling himself. They exchanged blows, getting the feel of each other's technique. Hal beat him, but not without difficulty. Hal thought the only reason he won was because Will dropped his sword and doubled-over in pain when his sword his wound. "How did you fight that well with only drill practice?" Thorn asked. Will shrugged. "Horace and Gilan taught me a bit," he answered, grimacing in pain. Will took a few deep breaths and straightened up slowly.

* * *

Hal looked at the sky and decided it was time to go. He went to go wake up the others while Will prepared breakfast.

The amazing sight of the looming summerhouse took their breaths away. Hal steered up to the dock and Will leapt off lightly and hurried up to the gate which quickly opened up for him. Will went into the garden where Shigeru was carefully raking his pebbles. He looked up when the young Ranger entered and smiled warmly.

Will bowed low at the waist before him. "You sent for me your excellency?" he asked. Shigeru's eyes widened in surprise. "Although it is nice to see you again, I did not send for you," he answered pulling Will up. Will stared at him through confused eyes. The pieces were falling into place. Shigeru decided not to question the young man, seeing the _look._ Will was thinking.

The messenger didn't look Nihon Jain. **Have no idea how to spell it.** About the time that the future king and queen and hero of Araulen were going home. Will had a bad feeling about this. He had the gut feeling that it was a trap.

"Excuse me your excellency. I must eave," he said hurriedly. "You are welcome here anytime," Shigeru called after him. So young and yet so much responsibility, he thought sadly.

Will needed to get back. He can't let anyone harm Horace or Cassandra. He remembered what Evelyn had said. Danger maybe all part and parcel to being the royal family, but they were in big danger now. The more Will thought about it, the more he was convinced. His friends were in danger.

**God that took forever to write. Sorry if it's too long. Thanks for the previous reviews, but remember, the author is supposed to tell the story NOT THE REVEIWERS. Anyways Review!**


	8. Chapter 8

**Meh. I'm starting to lose my inspiration on this. I should really do a plot-line instead of just winging it. Whatever. An in response to soup's most recent comment in Ch.7: refer to Ch.4, Will's MANY face-plants.**

The crew and the ship's passengers had gone through the usual routine. Halt had spent the first few days "Calling for Albert" as Erak like to refer to it as. The future rulers or Araluen did their best to make him comfortable, Gilan and the rest of the Skandians teased him (especially Erak and Svengal), and Alyss did her best to keep her diplomatic front although she desperately wanted to tease Halt and join the fun.

As the waves calmed and Halt got used to being out at sea, he relaxed. His mind wouldn't stop worrying about Will. Once, he made the mistake of confiding Gilan. As expected, Gilan teased him about mother-henning Will and treating him like a child, but. He shut up when Halt chucked him overboard and had the younger Ranger swim after the ship. That stopped him for about half a day.

Halt was overjoyed when Araluen approached in the horizon. Erak decided to wait until morning to sail up the river to the castle and make a grand entrance. So, Halt had to endure another night of the annoying rocking of the ship and the even more annoying lapping of the waves.

They FINALLY reached the Castle in mid-afternoon. The wolf-ship glided up the river. The near-by villagers stared at them, terrified. Halt wondered why. They should've been used to the Skandians by now. He shrugged mentally, waving the matter aside. Oddly enough, no one was there to greet them when they reached the castle.

Erak decided that the two experienced Rangers and one of Araluaen's best knights were not protective enough for the "delicate" princess. So, the Skandians escorted the Araluens to the castle. Halt figured that they just wanted food from the kitchen master. There were no guards at the gates. Now, Halt couldn't fight the gut feeling that something was wrong. He could tell the others shared his feelings. They couldn't afford to shrug it off.

Suddenly, the gates clanged shut and men dropped from the surrounding ramparts and walls. All with various weapons aimed at the small group. "Oh shit," Gilan muttered next to him. For once, Halt didn't reprimand him. He actually agreed.

**Once again, I love cliffies. Review and maybe I'll regain my inspiration. **


	9. Chapter 9

**Oh look! Inspiration regained. I wish we stayed in Tahoe longer :'(. Seriously. It was awesome. Our friends' house has a pool, a pool table, and he even brought along his PS3. Too bad he wouldn't let anyone else play AC3. -_-**

**Oh and thanks for the 1000 views. **

Will was panicking. They had reached Skandia, but Erak had told him that the other Araluens had gone home. Will silently swore under his breath over and over pacing around the Great Hall. He prayed to every god he could think of from every country and religion he knew that his friends would be all right.

Erak suggested that Will go to the forest to calm down. That was an oddly wise piece of advice from Erak, but good nonetheless. Will found Lydia in the forest helping Hal with his cross-bow. "Hello," said Hal, seeing Will. Will gave a mental nod of approval. The boy had good eyes. "Like you're old," came Horace's voice in his head.

"Can I see that?" Will asked gesturing at the crossbow. Hal handed it over. Will turned the weapon around, admiring the design. It was the Tejumi** I'm pretty sure that was the original design…** design, but modified. Will could tell it was a good weapon. "Shoot," he said, handing it back to Hal. Will studied how Hal held it and use it. It was pretty accurate. He turned to Lydia. "How good are you at the attal?" **How do you spell it? And is my info accurate? **Lydia look surprised. "She's amazing," Hal put in. Will nodded. "I put more value on action than words."

Lydia took out the attal and a dart. She carefully aimed and threw it. Will nodded. Both had good aim. "How about you?" Lydia asked. Will could see Hal motioning frantically at Lydia out of the corner of his eye. He briefly wondered why. "Give me a target," Will said. Lydia nodded and pointed to a fruit about 50 meters away, blocked by heavy foliage and was barely visible. Will grinned. He liked this girl. She reminded him of Evelyn. Will carefully aimed. Both teens held their breaths, Hal even stopping his seizures. They were watching a master at work. Will held his breath, then relaxed as the arrow flew off. He instinctively knew he had missed and swore quietly. Hal and Lydia stared confused until they saw the arrow miss. But, they had both witnessed an amazing archery feat. Will had known it missed the moment the arrow left the string.

"That was amazing!" Hal exclaimed. "I'm slipping," Will muttered. Lydia stared at Will. She would give anything to be nearly as accurate as the Ranger. She had trained her whole life, but she knew she would never get her darts even near the apple. Will was amazing. "Halt wouldn't have missed," he murmured. Lydia could see the pain in those lively eyes. He hadn't been the same since their hurried departure from Nihon'Ja. She realized that he missed his friends. Hal wasn't so sympathetic. Or rather, he was to thick-headed and ignorant to realize.

"We should go back now," Will said, looking up at the sky. It was getting dark. The three started waling back to the Great Hell. Then Will remembered his friends. He silently cursed himself for forgetting. "Hal…" Will started hesitantly. He remembered that was how he used to start conversations with Halt, but quickly quenched the memory before he could start bawling. "Yeah?" the boy asked absently. "Do you mind taking me to Araluen tomorrow?" Hal stopped and stared at him. "Why the Heron? I have no idea how to get there," he said. "Well, you have the fastest ship, the most accomplished crew and helmsman I know, the three time Maktig, and well, I like you guys," Will answered. Hal practically glowed at Will's praise. "We won't let you down," Hal promised. Will smiled at the energetic young boy. "I know."

**Doesn't Hal remind you of Will in some ways? Anyways review! Three more and I'll update. It shouldn't be that hard. **


	10. Chapter 10

**Sorry if my terms are incorrect. **

Will paced the Great Hall, swearing Borsa. That idiot hilfman wouldn't let Hal take him to Araluen. "'Oh no! We need all the warriors we can get' my foot!" Will grumbled. Erak came in trailed by Tursgurd, Hal, Rolland, and Thorn. "I am amazing!" Erak boomed. "I got you not only one, but three brotherbands to escort you back to Araluen." Will rolled his eyes. It surprised him that Erak had the… "capacity" to reason with Borsa.

Will nodded, deciding like the practiced diplomat he was not to point that out. "Thank you," he replied. Erak nodded. "You know where to go if you need help," Erak said seriously. Will nodded. "Thank you for everything," Will said quietly. "The ships are ready," Hal quietly told Will. The Ranger followed the young skirls and the old seawolf.

They had been sailing for a week now. Of course, being the genius he was, he had chosen to sail the Stormwhite in the middle of winter. "We have to stop at Skorghijl!" Rolland yelled over to Hal. The three brotherband crews had been made sure that they knew how to get there incase of a storm. Like now. Hal glanced at the Ranger to make sure he hadn't fallen out of the ship. Another wave broke over the wolfship and Hal turned back to battling the storm.

After a day of fighting the storm, they finally made it to the rock. Will groaned, prying his numb hands off the side of the ship and tumbled in an ungraceful heap onto the ground. The other boys did the same. Lydia attempted to make a graceful exit, but her legs crumpled under her. Thorn watched with amusement.

After resting for 10 minutes, Will hauled himself off the ground. "Stuck here. _Again," _he moaned. Hal groaned and hauled himself up and nearly face-planted. He wandered around the ship, searching for damage. Rolland did the same, but Tursgurd made one of his crew do it. Thorn watched the arrogant skirl with disgust. Thorn turned his gaze to Will who was making sure the shelters were still inhabitable.

"We'll have to stay here for a few days. The Heron's planking is badly torn and rotting from the moisture," Hal said.

Rolland came up. "The Wolf is also badly beaten," Rolland reported. Thorn looked for Tursgurd's report, but the lazy ass was sitting on his butt, scanning the island with disgust. Will came back. "Shelter's fine. Perfectly waterproof."

"Will," Hal began hesitantly. "We may have to stay for a while. Th ships are in disrepair," he said quietly. Will nodded slowly, but the young boy could see the panic and desperation in the Ranger's eyes. "I'll take the lean to," he said abruptly, striding off.

Stig groaned. "I can't believe we have to share this small rock with that little-" Hal cut him off. "Language Stig," he said sharply. "I agree," Rolland huffed stalking off. Hal managed to split the three brotherbands into the two cabins. Thorn elected to sleep in his own tent and so did Lydia who claimed to not want to be near smelly boys.

The next morning found Will fighting Thorn. With big sharp swords. Hal who was still half asleep, woke up immediately. He ran over to them. "What's going on?" he demanded. "I asked Thorn to train me," Will answered. Hal let out a sigh of relief. Two _very_ dangerous people weren't trying to kill each other. "Why? I thought Ranger's didn't use swords." Will shrugged, "It's never too late to learn."

Hal grunted. The lovely aroma of coffee drifted towards them. Will sprinted towards it, Hal jumping aside to avoid being bowled over by a coffee-dependent Ranger.

They found Will inhaling coffee in the "dining room." Slowly, a trickle of hungry boys came in to eat. After breakfast, Thorn had them all go outside to drill them. Tursgurd, predictably argued. "but we're all exhausted." Thorn scowled. "Only injured or sick are allowed to skip." Tursgurd screamed as an arrow appeared in his calf. "There. You're injured. You may be excused." Will seemed to rise from the ground with a rabbit carcass slung over his shoulder. "Don't ask," he replied to Hal questioning gaze. Hal decided that Rangers really are black magicians if they could find anything that grows or lives on the rock.

Thorn trained them the entire morning. Lydia had went off to play with her atlatl. Hal collapsed onto a fallen log, gulping down water. He could see Will in the distance, climbing that stupid cliff for the umpteenth time. Hal shook his head, wondering why anyone would do such extreme exercise willingly. "Time for a jog," Thorn announced. "Then you can go back to whatever you're doing." The boys groaned and jogged along their usual path.

They stopped at the cliff where Thorn allowed them to catch their breaths. Hal nearly jumped out of his skin when Will dropped lightly down next to him and tapped his shoulder. "Gorlog's beard!" he bellowed causing the other boys to whip around. Will looked surprised at his outburst. "We can't hear or see you, you know?" Hal grumbled. Will muttered an apology.

"Thorn says it's time for lunch," he said. Hal stared at him incredulously, wondering how he got from here to the camp then back in the time it took the boys to run from there to here. Will was gone before he could ask. "Weird," Rolland muttered. The other boys nodded in agreement.

By the time the panting boys made it back to the shelters, Will and Lydia had already finished lunch. Hal watched in interest as Will practiced his archery. He couldn't even see the arrows until they landed with a thud in the targets. He turned his attention to where Lydia was making new darts. She took special care in crafting and fitting the fletching. Hal caught himself staring at her.

Thorn yelled at them to continue their drills. Hal sighed. He couldn't wait to get off this rock.


	11. Chapter 11

**Happy Easter! I love how most of the American holidays include candy.**

The waves that lapped against the shore was driving him crazy. He missed the calm forest with it's comfortable tall trees and various hiding places. The island seemed to be shrinking while the sea between him and his friends seemed to grow bigger and bigger. It killed him, not knowing if his friends were okay. Hell! He wasn't even sure they were alive! And he was stuck on this god forsaken rock unable to help or do anything at all. He could barely even hunt.

A large, calloused hand clamped down on his shoulder, making Will jump. The Ranger had been too wrapped up in his thoughts and Thorn could move very quietly when he wanted to. "Breakfast," Thorn grunted, pulling him to where the younger boys (ahem and girl) were already seated. Edvin looked up as the two men came over and handed the Ranger his little miracle in a cup. He knew about Will's near dependency on the bean-based beverage.

Will sat down on a log near Hal and slowly sipped the coffee, savoring it. Thorn glanced at the Ranger, noting the far-away look in his eye and how he was sipping his coffee slowly instead of his normal inhalation. One of the twins waved his hand in front of Will's face. "Hello? Did you fall asleep or something?" he asked. Wulf yelped as his hand was nearly sliced off with a saxe knife that seemingly appeared out of no where.

Will frowned at Hal. "Really Hal. I thought your crew would have been more disciplined by now," Will tsked teasingly. Will twirled his knife around his fingers, seeing Tursgurd open his mouth condescendingly.

They finished breakfast silently. Lydia stretched leisurely, noting how Hal and Stig looked like they were trying hard not to drool. The other Herons (minus Ingvar) smirked at their leaders expressions. Will rolled his eyes. He wondered if the girl was doing this on purpose, but then again he wouldn't know. Alyss wouldn't even think of showing off her body even though she did it without trying, and Evelyn was too tomboyish.

Soon the other boys were finished and lined up in front of Thorn, ready for a day of drills. Will watched them with interest, then slipped into line at the end, next to Stefan. Thorn raised an eyebrow at him, but Will just gave a small shrug in reply.

Will had trouble keeping up with the Skandians. He was fast and was about 30 meters in front of everyone during their morning jog. He was also a lot stronger then anyone had expected. Will prided himself in being a relatively quick learner and soon got the hang of a sword. Plus, all those nights sneaking out to practice and prepare as a Ward really helped.

"I thought you were trained with a bow and knives," Hal panted, dropping on the ground when Thorn had finally called for a break. Will shrugged. "How are you not passing out right now?" Ulf grumbled. Will's fists clenched, annoyed that everyone had once again mistaken him for a weakling with his slight build . It was still a constant in his life, but that didn't mean he had to like it. "Yeah. A weakling Araluen like you should have been unconscious a long time ago," Tursgurd sneered. A moment later, a knife nicked the side of his head and imbedded itself in a tree 20 feet behind him, the hilt quivering.

Will stalked away, growling. The boys looked at each other, confused, wondering why the normally carefree, light-hearted Ranger was so moody. Thorn shook his head, sighing at their obliviousness. Thorn could tell that the younger man was worried and didn't like being coped up on this rock in the middle of a gigantic pond. After all, he was more cavalry and espionage than navy.

Thorn noticed with approval that Lydia had already gone after him. He had noticed that the girl had gotten attached to the Ranger, probably because Will was the one who helped her with her atlatl and aim. And because Will was the type of person who was just really hard to hate.

Lydia followed Will who had made his way into the scraggly bushes that they called a "forest". "Leave," Will growled, sensing the girl. She caught up to him, dragging on his arm. "Calm down," she said. "They don't understand. They're just thick-headed pigs."

Will sighed, leaning against a tree, rubbing his temples. He didn't know why he was having these mood swings, but he blamed it on stress and worry. Lydia frowned. She stepped forward and felt his forehead. It was burning to the touch. She mentally smacked herself. Will must've been freezing. All the Skandians were used to cold, and Will's cloak looked very worn. "You have a fever," she said, almost scoldingly. Will shrugged, brushing past her. "I'll be fine in a few days, " he grumbled. Lydia left him alone as he pushed his way deeper into the brush.

When Will got back to the camp, he found himself being grabbed and pulled by Edvin into the medical tent, where he was forced down. He sighed, guessing that Lydia told. "I'm fine," he tried to protest when Edvin handed him some tea. They ended up having a glaring war and gave everyone a lesson on the stubbornness of a Ranger and a healer.

Thorn managed to knock (literally) some sense into Will and got him to drink the tea and rest. Will's stay on the rock just got more miserable.

He hated feeling so helpless and weak while the others were getting exercise and fixing the ships and doing their best to restock for the trip to Araluen.

He spent the next few days slipping in and out of consciousness, feeling both hot and cold at the same time. After 4 days, he was on the verge of banging his head on something out of sheer boredom. "Screw it," he grumbled, slipping out of the tent. He managed to look slightly dignified like a Ranger for about 3 seconds before slipping on the wet rocks. Stig grabbed him and hauled him back into the tent. "Sit," the boy ordered. Will glared back. "Respect your elders," he grumbled. Stig walked back out, chortling. "I'll get Edvin," he called back.

Will sighed, feeling useless and humiliated. "Great Ranger I make," he grumbled to himself. He sighed again and leaned against the side of the tent, almost knocking it over. Will swore softly, wondering if he could do anything correctly. Instead of Edvin coming into the tent, this time it was Lydia. She handed Will a cup of tea,"Edvin said you should be fine by the time we set sail." Will instantly perked up. "When?" he asked, finally daring to hope. Lydia smiled, sensing his excitement. "2 days," she answered.

Will sighed contently and leaned back.

Two days later, Will was up and about, training hard to get back into shape before they left. He felt weak and out of shape, but the Skandians claimed that they couldn't see the difference. None of them understood the Ranger standards. Even if they did, it all went over their heads.

Will was not happy about getting onto the ship again, but he was overjoyed to be getting off this god-forsaken rock in the middle of no where. And to ass to that joy, he was finally on his way to rescuing his friends.

**Ugh. Such a cheesy ending. Oh well. Here's your Easter egg. Enjoy it. **


	12. Chapter 12

**I'm so sorry I haven't updated in so long. I stared this chapter in like April, but I got sort of stuck on explaining Will's boredom. **

Will now understood how Halt felt. They had been pitching around in a smaller-than-usual wolfship for almost three weeks now. Will longed for the sight of land, even the Arridian desert was better than this. The Ranger moaned, hanging his head off the side of the ship. _I. Hate. The. Ocean. _Will thought grumpily, not even the god-like powers of coffee lifting his mood. Will didn't even bother to lift his head as it banged against the side of the rocking ship. His fever had returned, leaving him feeling weak and making his trip even more miserable. Stig, feeling bad for the Ranger, carefully pulled Will fully back into the ship by his cape. Will moaned wanting to dive into the cool water. It was so hot and his stupid cape was making it even worse.

"Cheer up," Hal said coming over. "We're about a day away from Araluen." Will sighed, wishing the ship would go faster. Even the fastest ship on the planet was so painfully slow. The water looked so cool and inviting, even though Will's mind told him that if he jumped in, his heavy cape would pull him into the murky world below. The sun beat down mercilessly as if taunting him. The past week, it had been 3 days of pouring rain and thunder and mountainous waves, then a day of sun beating down so hot, that practically half the ocean evaporated. And then repeat. To day was _Sun_day, and they day they were _supposed_ to get to Araluen by.

It took a lot to bore a Ranger and this was one of the few. Will had long gotten tired of staring at the endless stretch of blue-gray water. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't see the beauty that the Skandians tried so hard to show him. Will swore that after this, he was never going to tease Halt every again.

"Will, maybe you can check on the nets," Hal called over, giving the bored, sulking Ranger something to do. Said Ranger grunted, walking over to the nets, glad that the boat wasn't pitching that much. Rangers were supposed to be graceful. So far, there wasn't much grace.

The nets were filled with silver fish. Will marveled at how the Skandians seemed to know exactly where to put the nets and how to catch fish. Will sat down on the bench and pulled out his knife. He had gotten used to the job of skinning. He couldn't do anything on ships, and Hal had given him an easy job, knowing that Will hated feeling useless. Will appreciated it, although wishing he could do a more important job like he was used to. But, he had to accept that the world just didn't make way and bow down to him, hero or not. After all, no one could be important all the time. Well except Halt.

Will didn't even glance up as Lydia sat down next to him, taking one of the fish and started skinning it. Will had grown closer to this young lady. She just reminded him of Alyss and she was a lot more similar to him than the other boys were. And it helped that she also had nothing to do on this goddamned ship either.

Will finished skinning fish too quickly in his opinion. He had nothing else to do after that other than to bang his head repeatedly on the side of the ship. It had been a boring trip for him, made worse by his ignorance of his friends. Every night he prayed to every deity he knew that they were still alive. It was torture. For the fifth time in ten minutes he wished that this ship would go faster. But he knew they could only go as fast as the wind and having the boys row would be a stupid waste of energy. Well, not that stupid if they would hurry up.

It continued like that for the next week. Gutting fish, boredom, trying not to fall into the water during the storms. Just as Will was losing hope of his friends survival, they saw land. It was an abandoned island, once a prison, later a Skandian base, until they were driven out 15 years ago by a Ranger and his apprentice *cough* Halt *cough* Gilan.

Hal grounded the ship on shore, closely followed by the other brotherbands. Will tumbled out of the ship, swaying, very close to falling on the ground and kissing the dirt. He knew it will take at least three days to reach the mainland and God knows how long to find his friends, but right now, the young Ranger was just happy to see solid ground instead of Goddamned waves.

Lydia stepped off after him, watching as the boys tossed out what was needed to prepare for however long they might stay here. Lydia took a step and pitched over. Both Hal and Stig hurried over to help her up. "Are you okay?" Stig asked. "Dizzy," Lydia grounded out. It was true. The ground seemed to be rolling and pitching underneath her. "Oh. You still haven't gotten your land legs yet. For some reason, your body still thinks you're on a ship," Hal explained.

Hal heard a snort. The three of them looked up and saw a smirking Will Treaty. "Funny how Skandians, no matter how smart, seem to think along the same lines," Will chucked, remembering how Svengal had explained it to him when they first arrived at Skorghijl. The two Skandian boys just stared at him. Will couldn't help by laugh at their expressions.

By the time they had camp set up, they had all gotten their land legs back. Will knew there was still a long way to go, but at least now, he had some hope.


End file.
